Padraig Beggy lands second Classic in just over two years

Padraig Beggy lands second Classic in just over two years after guiding Sovereign to shock Irish derby victory

Padraig Beggy was the jockey on board Wings Of Eagles, O’Brien’s 2017 winner

Since that day at Epsom, Beggy had just over 30 race rides with Sovereign

The post-race talk was whether Beggy’s rivals had given mount too much rope

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By Marcus Townend For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 00:08 BST, 30 June 2019 | Updated: 00:08 BST, 30 June 2019

Padraig Beggy, whose main job is a work rider at Aidan O’Brien’s stable, landed his second Classic in just over two years when partnering shock winner 33-1 Sovereign to a six-length win in the Irish Derby at the Curragh.

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Beggy, 32, was the jockey on board Wings Of Eagles, O’Brien’s 40-1 winner of the 2017 Investec Derby.

Since that day at Epsom, Beggy had just over 30 race rides with Sovereign being his ninth mount of the season and first winner.

Padraig Beggy, whose main job is a work rider at Aidan O’Brien’s stable, landed second Classic

Sovereign gave O’Brien his 13th win in the Irish Derby but all the post-race talk was whether Beggy’s rival jockeys had given his pacesetting mount far too much rope in what appeared an unsatisfactory running of Ireland’s biggest Flat race.

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O’Brien also saddled the second and third with his Ryan Moore-ridden Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck, the 5-4 favourite, overhauling stablemate Norway, who helped Sovereign set the pace.

Going into yesterday’s race Sovereign had won one of his eight races and finished 10th in the Epsom Derby where he also helped to force the pace.

O’Brien was responsible for five of the eight runners including Epsom fourth Broome who fluffed the start and was a disappointing sixth

Beggy, who served a year’s suspension for testing positive to cocaine in 2014, said: ‘This was the race I grew up wanting to win as an apprentice. I am just very lucky I have won the English and Irish Derbys. I just got into a lovely comfortable rhythm and felt like I could go quicker so I just let him roll along.

‘The Curragh is a big galloping track and my horse really enjoyed it. He is a big galloper. I did think something would come to me but when I was close enough to have a peak at the big screen, I knew I was clear.’